FX.co ★ Asian Markets Climb Led By Tech Stocks

On Wednesday, Asian stocks experienced a rise, with investors' attention focused on the earnings reports anticipated from large U.S. companies this week. Companies such as Meta Platforms, owners of Facebook, are due to announce their first-quarter earnings soon, with Microsoft and Alphabet expected to report their financial results by Thursday.

Tesla, the electric vehicle titan, has unveiled plans to launch new vehicle models sooner than initially forecasted, furthering positive growth expectations. Following the release of weak U.S. manufacturing and services PMI data, a dip was observed in the U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar.

Gold's trajectory remained uncertain in Asian trading but remained above $2,300 per ounce. Oil prices remained virtually unaltered, despite the substantial gains experienced in the previous session based on positive inventory data.

Shares in China saw a significant rise, with the Shanghai Composite index increasing by 0.76 percent to 3,044.82 post the announcement of better than expected growth in new-business values by Ping An Insurance. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index leaped by 2.21 percent to 17,201.27, and the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) software developer SenseTime Group's shares skyrocketed by 31.2 percent following the launch of its latest generative AI model.

After reporting strong earnings from Texas Instruments that uplifted chip-related stocks, Japanese markets terminated significantly high. The Nikkei average saw a leap of 2.42 percent to 38,460.08, with the broader Topix index settling 1.67 percent higher at 2,710.73.

Screen Holdings and Advantest rallied, while shares in Nikon surged by 10.3 percent, marking its biggest daily gain in eleven years, post the revelation of stake acquisition by Silchester International Investors in the camera maker. The yen hit near 34-year lows against the dollar, following Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki's statement about readiness for appropriate measures in the foreign exchange market.

Seoul stocks rose, and the Kospi average closed up 2.01 percent at 2,675.75, marking its biggest increase since March 21. In contrast, Australian markets moved counter to initial gains due to robust consumer inflation in Q1, solidifying the case for heightened interest rates.

Finally, U.S. stocks experienced a rise for two consecutive sessions as investors processed an array of strong corporate earnings, weaker manufacturing data and varied readings in the housing sector. Following a survey revealing a cool in U.S. business activity in April, Treasury yields declined. As a result, the Dow increased by 0.7 percent, the S&P 500 by 1.2 percent, and the tech-oriented Nasdaq Composite by 1.6 percent.